Engineers at Nintendo are reportedly working on the second circle pad peripheral as we speak, and the new 3DS system will "tone down" the 3D features

Nintendo's 3DS has had a rocky start since its
launch in March 2011. Sales were nothing short of unimpressive, and Nintendo President Satoru Iwata even
noted that a poor launch lineup was to blame.

Only four months after the 3DS' release, Nintendo reported poor first-quarter
earnings and believed the disappointing 3DS sales were partially the problem.
To remedy this, Nintendo slashed the portable system's price from
$249.99 to $169.99 starting August 12.

The plan worked. Nintendo 3DS sales skyrocketed in Japan, selling 215,000 units
between August 8 and 14. This was a victory for Nintendo, considering the fact
that only 109,000 3DS units were sold in Japan through the entire month of May
in comparison.

Now, Nintendo is keeping its focus on how to continue improving the handheld,
and will do so through two new announcements: an external second circle pad
add-on, and a completely new model due in 2012.

According to French site 01Net, Nintendo is developing a detachable second circle
pad for the 3DS. Nintendo reportedly regretted not having two analogue sticks
included in the system's launch in March, and said that the production of the
3DS was "rushed" in order to beat the PlayStation Vita.

Engineers at Nintendo are working on the peripheral as we speak, and will sell
for approximately $10. In addition, developers are working on titles to suit
the add-on.

While it is unclear when the attachment will be available, the report did know
of a new 3DS system available in 2012. The new system may not even be a
"3DS" anymore, since it will supposedly "tone down" the 3D
features significantly.

But before Nintendo launches another system, it needs to focus on an issue with
its dev kits, according to 01Net. Third parties are becoming
frustrated with Nintendo because it is only making 300 kits per month, and
there is an extensive waiting list.

"If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else." -- Microsoft Business Group President Jeff Raikes